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2003 Middle Tennessee

4–⁠8 (3–⁠3 Sun Belt Conference), coached by Andy McCollum.

Schedule and results

Middle Tennessee in 2003, game by game: lost vs. Florida Atlantic 19–20; lost at No. 8 Georgia 10–29; lost at Clemson 14–37; lost at No. 23 Missouri 40–41; lost vs. Temple 36–44; won vs. New Mexico State 35–18; won at Idaho 28–21; lost vs. North Texas 28–33; lost at Utah State 20–41; won vs. Troy 27–20; lost vs. Louisiana 51–57; won at Arkansas State 24–14+17−23Lost 19–20 vs. Florida Atlantic-1Florida AtlanticLost 10–29 at No. 8 Georgia-19No. 8 GeorgiaLost 14–37 at Clemson-23ClemsonLost 40–41 at No. 23 Missouri-1No. 23 MissouriLost 36–44 vs. Temple-8TempleWon 35–18 vs. New Mexico State+17New Mexico StateWon 28–21 at Idaho+7IdahoLost 28–33 vs. North Texas-5North TexasLost 20–41 at Utah State-21Utah StateWon 27–20 vs. Troy+7TroyLost 51–57 vs. Louisiana-6LouisianaWon 24–14 at Arkansas State+10Arkansas State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 28vsFlorida AtlanticL 19–⁠2079%
Sep 6at8GeorgiaL 10–⁠2913%
Sep 13atClemsonL 14–⁠3730%
Sep 20at23MissouriL 40–⁠4123%
Oct 4vsTempleL 36–⁠4462%
Oct 11vsNew Mexico StateW 35–⁠1852%
Oct 18atIdahoW 28–⁠2158%
Oct 25vsNorth TexasL 28–⁠3344%
Nov 1atUtah StateL 20–⁠4148%
Nov 8vsTroyW 27–⁠2048%
Nov 15vsLouisianaL 51–⁠5770%
Nov 20atArkansas StateW 24–⁠1447%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Arkansas State 24–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Sun Belt Conference.

In program history: The 23rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 63 on file).

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 2003.

Record
4–⁠8
Conference
3–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Sun Belt Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
332–⁠375
Coach
Andy McCollum
Elo
1384 −50 this season
SP+ rating
-15.7 No. 99 of 117; offense No. 71, defense No. 108
SRS
−9.9 No. 92 of 117 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
No. 79
Offensive coordinators
Darin Hinshaw and Blake Anderson
Defensive coordinator
Steve Davis

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 25— allowed
Defense0.0own 35— caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2003 class

Taron Henry ATH★★★No. 682
Terry Jackson RB★★★No. 682
Antoine Owens OLB★★★No. 682
Sam Hunt PRO★★No. 1050
Darren Mustin OLB★★No. 1050

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2003 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks22.00.767
Running backs42.30.775
Receivers22.00.767
Offensive line32.00.767
Defensive line12.00.767
Linebackers52.20.773
Defensive backs22.00.767
Athletes and specialists32.30.778
Whole class222.10.771

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

2003 Sun Belt Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
North Texas7–⁠09–⁠4
Louisiana3–⁠24–⁠8
Arkansas State3–⁠35–⁠7
Middle Tennessee3–⁠34–⁠8
Utah State3–⁠33–⁠9
Idaho3–⁠43–⁠9
New Mexico State2–⁠53–⁠9
UL Monroe1–⁠51–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.